Athy 'eyesore' attracting anti-social behaviour

Kildare Co Council has been urged to do something about an overgrown and unsightly property in Athy which is attracting anti-social behaviour.

John Whelan lives on the Geraldine Road adjacent to a vacant home which he said is owned by the council and described as an “eyesore.” 

“If you look out our kitchen window here, you can see there’s a flat roof there on the house next door. And only about two weeks ago there was teenagers up on it, while our two-year-old child played out there (back garden), urinating off it. And the more I gave out to them – it didn’t bother them,” he explained. “There’s light cables going into that building, they were hanging out of that.” John said they’ve contacted the council a few times and noted that local councillor Brian Dooley has been representing them and trying to get to the bottom of it.

“Never. Not in the time I was here,” he said when asked if he had ever seen works taking place inside or out. “If it was (in) private ownership, they’d have something done about it at this stage.” 

Cllr Dooley said the house had been vacant for a long time.

“The council have a plan I believe, and they need money obviously to do it. I know that house is actually on a capital programme to have work done on it,” he said.

He added: “It does need to be secured by the council, because it is creating an issue around anti-social behaviour.” 

A spokesperson for Kildare Co Council told the ***Kildare Nationalist*** that the property has been included in the local authority’s Housing Delivery Action Plan, for the delivery of five social housing units.

“Kildare Co Council is in the final stages of procuring a design team, with houses scheduled for delivery in Q4, 2026,” they said. “The site has been recently inspected and was found to be secure. The elected members of Kildare Co Council are provided with an update on this property monthly via the chief executive’s report.”